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Pascal Tanguy wrote on Facebook: 'And the museum of Bayeux? It will close because its major work will no longer there and the staff will be unemployed.'

Two previous attempts to see the tapestry brought to Britain have failed, raising questions over whether it will ever make it across the English Channel.

The failed efforts to bring it over were during the Queen's coronation in 1953 and to mark the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings in 1966.

Preparations are under way to move the fabric (pictured) - which shows the conquest of England by Norman invaders - across the Channel in a bid to show the strength of the British-French relationship in the wake of the Brexit vote

This close up of the Bayeux tapestry shows Harold (left) being struck by an arrow to the eye

Bruno Robert des Douets said on the En Normandie Facebook page: 'It is far too fragile. It will will surely need care soon. Also, can you imagine the touristic disaster for the city of Bayeux?'

Nicole Djama Merlaton added: 'I hope that this trip will not cause any damage to this beautiful 'comic' embroidery. It might be better if it stays with us.'

Pascal Tanguy wrote on Facebook: 'And the museum of Bayeux? It will close because its major work will no longer there and the staff will be unemployed'

Marie-Thérèse Tribout posted on the Facebook page: 'It is Norman and must stay there. This is crazy. There are more urgent things to deal with'

And today an official in Mr Macron's office said the loan is still 'under consideration', with the tapestry not travelling before 2020 because of required restoration work.

Could Britain send the Rosetta Stone to France in return?

Britain should lend the Rosetta Stone to France in return for the tapestry, a senior Tory MP has claimed.

Tom Tugendhat, Conservative chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, said the UK should hand over a relic of similar historic importance to the Frence.

The Rosetta Stone at the British Museum

The artefact dates from 196BC and carries Greek and Egyptian inscriptions that first helped to decipher hieroglyphics.

Mr Tugendhat told the Daily Telegraph: 'I think that this is an opportunity for us to cement the relationship.

'Actually one of the interesting items that we might perhaps think about lending - we would have to get the British Museum's permission for it - is the Rosetta Stone which was discovered in Egypt by a French researcher, a French archaeologist, in the late 1700s, I think it was 1799.

'It was captured, I'm delighted to say, at the Battle of the Nile when we captured quite a lot of other Egyptian items including the Cleopatra's Needle that is on the Embankment.'

The official said: 'This loan is under consideration, because there will be several months of restoration work at the Museum of Bayeux.

'It will not be before 2020 because it is an extremely fragile cultural treasure which will be subject to major restoration work before being transported anywhere.'

Preparations are under way to move the fabric across the Channel in a bid to show the strength of the British-French relationship in the wake of the Brexit vote.

French President Mr Macron is expected to make the announcement of the momentous loan tomorrow when he meets with Theresa May at Sandhurst.

Dr Levi Roach, medieval historian at the University of Exeter, said it would take time for conservationists to ensure the work could be moved and displayed safely.

He told MailOnline: 'I suspect one of the things that's being raised now, beyond its iconic status, is the issue of preservation and whether this can be moved safely.

'It's not going to be something that you'll want to completely roll up, so there'll need to be a great deal of care in how it will be packaged, so as not to damage the fabric.'

Dr Roach added: 'This has not been moved since 1944, and we're increasingly aware of the damage that can be done to such artefacts.'

He said the temperature, light exposure and air humidity for its transport and display would be investigated before the tapestry can be moved.

Prime Minister Theresa May welcomed the plans as 'very significant', saying it was important that 'the maximum number of people' will be able to see the work.

But at Prime Minister's Questions, she received rival bids for a site to host it.

A section of the Bayeux Tapestry on display at the Bayeux Museum in Normandy, France

The length of the loan - and the location of its display - has not been decided. Pictured: A section of the tapestry showing the Escort of Count Guy of Ponthieu (who captured Duke Harold)

Bexhill and Battle MP Huw Merriman said Battle Abbey would be an appropriate location, on the site where the 1066 clash took place.

How the tapestry is stitched with ten shades of woolen yarn

With the Bayeux Tapestry set to be displayed in Britain, here are some facts about the masterpiece:

It is nearly 70 metres (230ft) long, 50cm (1.6ft) high and made of nine panels of linen cloth.

Although it is called a tapestry it is in fact an embroidery stitched with 10 shades of woollen yarn.

Over a succession of scenes, it chronicles events leading up to the Norman conquest of England by William the Conqueror and culminates in the Battle of Hastings and the defeat of Harold in 1066.

Nothing is known for certain about its origins, with the first written record appearing in the Bayeux Cathedral's inventory of treasures in 1476.

Napoleon put it on display in Paris in 1804 and it was briefly exhibited at the city's Louvre in 1944.

The work is currently exhibited in the Bayeux Museum in Normandy.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd also suggested her Hastings and Rye constituency should be in contention for the honour.

But Mrs May said: 'I am sure we will be looking very carefully to ensure that the maximum number of people can take the benefit of seeing this tapestry.'

Returning the 230ft-long tapestry to the UK could allow British historians to finally study the back of the work.

It depicts events leading up to the Norman conquest of England by William the Conqueror against Harold, Earl of Wessex, and culminates in the Battle of Hastings.

The famous arrow-in-the-eye scene apparently depicting the death of Harold at Hastings in 1066 is believed to have been added in Victorian times.

Scholar of early medieval embroidery Dr Alexandra Makin said moving the tapestry will be a real challenge for curators.

'You can move it if it's got specially constructed containers, and curators on both sides of the Channel will be looking to see if it's viable to do that,' she said.

'Although it's massive, it's in a fragile state. It's natural fibres - wool and linen - and obviously it was made in the early 11th century. So the curators will be investigating all the options to see if it's possible.'

President Macron is expected to make the announcement of the momentous loan on Thursday when he meets with Theresa May at Sandhurst. Pictured: The tapestry in Bayeux

The loan of the tapestry will give British historians the chance to study the tapestry in a lot more detail and perhaps identify any later additions to the piece.

Dr Makin said: 'You can actually see the 19th century restoration work because it's not nearly as neat as the original work.

'You can see the embroiderers were not looking at it as a design - they were looking at it as an area that had to be completed, so the threads are carried over from one motif to the next.'

Dr Makin thinks the famous arrow-in-the-eye scene could have been a 19th-century invention because there are tiny needle holes stretching from beyond the arrow design.

'The original thread might have continued on to perhaps create a lance or something,' she said.

Historians believe that the tapestry was the work of professional female embroiderers, probably of Anglo-Saxon origin, in the Canterbury area.

'Their work was very well thought of and very well known. They were commissioned by Norman aristocrats to make things for them,' Dr Makin said.

'That's not to say that they weren't embroidering on the continent, but in the case of the Bayeux Tapestry, that was probably made by Anglo-Saxon workers who would have been female.'

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, scholar Maggie Kneen said until now, experts have only been provided with footage and photographs of the back of the piece.

She said: 'When you get to know it as I have been able to do you realise what a treasure house of information it is about what was going on at the time.

'It was made in Canterbury, it's more or less been proven by art historical means - it's such a marvellous piece of news. It's just going to be so important for children to learn from it.'

Although called a tapestry, it is an embroidery stitched in nine different panels.

The first record of the piece is in Bayeux Cathedral's inventory of treasures in 1476, but it is believed it was stitched in England by nuns at St Augustine's Abbey.

'The stitching is as beautiful on the back as it is on the front,' Ms Kneen said. 'From what I believe, the actual arrow was a Victorian addition.

'The actual arrow that was stitched on to the tapestry was added on later on. Really to see the back of it rather than a CD of images would be tremendous for scholars.'

Ironically, it is considered most likely the historic cloth was created in England after being commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux.

The director of the Bayeux Museum (pictured) in Normandy - where the tapestry has been through most of its history, barring two displays in Paris - confirmed the move

Odo was the half-brother of William the Conqueror - leader of the Norman imperialists - and is thought to have requested the work in the 1070s.

What does the tapestry show?

The huge tapestry is a masterpiece of Anglo-Saxon art.

It depicts Edward the Confessor, a weak king of England, dispatching one of his kingdom's magnates, Harold Godwinson, to Normandy.

While there Harold is taken prisoner until William the Bastard - later Conqueror - rescues him.

Harold pledges an unexplained oath (though it is presumed to be regarding Harold's support for William's claim on the English throne) to William before returning to England.

Following the death of Edward, Harold is made king.

After showing Halley's Comet - a bad Medieval omen - William is shown receiving the news and ordering the construction of a fleet to invade England.

The invading army is then shown arriving in England before engaging in the Battle of Hastings, in which Odo is given a starring role.

King Harold then perishes on the battlefield after taking an arrow in the eye - the sole source claiming that he died in this manner - before the Normans seize victory.

The final segments of the tapestry are missing, but they are thought to have depicted the invaders' celebratory feast and William's coronation.

'This is an extraordinary diplomatic outreach by the president of France and a fantastic gesture of goodwill from one of our nearest and closest allies.

'It's a fantastic opportunity for the British people to see one of the seminal works in our national history.'

The tapestry is currently on display in a darkened room in the Bayeux Museum in Normandy.

Napoleon put it on display in Paris in 1804 and it was briefly exhibited at the city's Louvre in 1944.

The Times reported that tests would need to be carried out to make sure the tapestry could be moved without being damaged.

The location for the display in Britain is not thought to have been decided, but staff at the British Museum are hopeful it might be chosen.

Hartwig Fischer, director of the museum, said: 'This would be a major loan, probably the most significant ever from France to the UK.

'It is a gesture of extraordinary generosity and proof of the deep ties that link our countries.

'The Bayeux Tapestry is of huge importance, as it recounts a crucial moment in British and French history, 1066.

'We would be honoured and delighted to display it at the British Museum, the UK's most visited and internationally respected institution.

After showing Halley's Comet - a bad Medieval omen - William is shown receiving the news and ordering the construction of a fleet to invade England. Pictured: The fleet en route to England

Mrs May and Mr Macron (pictured together last month) are also expected to announce heightened defence co-operation

'Here it would be seen by the widest UK and international audience in the context of a museum of world cultures.'

The French President will hold talks with Mrs May at the UK-France summit, which a spokesman said would highlight cross-Channel co-operation on issues such as climate change, air pollution, cyber threats and the human genome.

Dr Alex Woolf, from the school of history at the University of St Andrews, said: 'The Bayeux Tapestry was stitched by Englishwomen within a few years of the Norman conquest at the behest of either Queen Edith, the widow of Edward the Confessor, or more likely, William the Conqueror's brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, who had been made Earl of Kent after the Conquest.

'It is far and away the largest and most famous example of English art surviving from the eleventh century and has been of unparalleled importance to historians and art historians of the period.

'To have it back in its country of origin, accessible to a far wider public, is a wonderful opportunity.'

The final segments of the tapestry are missing, but they are thought to have depicted the invaders' celebratory feast and William's coronation. Pictured: A cart carrying wine and other supplies for William's England-bound ships

One British government official - rejecting the suggestion the violent tapestry simply reaffirms ancient Anglo-French hostility - told the Times: '[It] underlines both governments' recognition of the depth of a relationship rooted in our shared history.'

The Times's cartoonist Peter Brookes linked Bayeux and Brexit in his offering in Wednesday's edition, which was drawn in the style of the tapestry.

It depicted Mr Macron as 'Emmanuel the Conqueror' riding forth with a confident smile as Mrs May, brandishing a Brexit banner, received an arrow in the eye - the fate that befell King Harold according to the tapestry.

Foreign secretary Boris Johnson was depicted slumped forward on a horse with two arrows in his bottom.

Previous attempts to see the tapestry brought to the UK - during the Queen's coronation in 1953 and to mark the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings in 1966 - ended in failure.

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY?

1066: Between seven and twelve thousand Norman soldiers defeat an English army of a similar size at what is now Battle, East Sussex

Nazi ghoul Heinrich Himmler (pictured) coveted the cloth because it is a part of Germanic history

1476: The embroidered cloth depicting the battle is referred to for the first time in an inventory of Bayeux Cathedral

1732-3: Antiquarian Smart Lethieullier writes the first detailed English account of the tapestry while living in Paris - but it is not published till 1767

1792: During the French Revolution, the precious artwork was declared public property and confiscated to be used as a covering for wagons - but it was saved by a lawyer who hid it in his home

1804: In a move dripping in symbolism, Napoleon - under the impression France was about to invade and conquer Britain - had the tapestry temporarily moved to Paris for display

1870: The tapestry is removed from Bayeux once again during the Franco-Prussian War - but it is moved back two years later

1944: The Gestapo removed the tapestry to the Louvre in Paris - just days before the German withdrawal. A message from Heimlich Himmler - who coveted the cloth because it is a part of Germanic history - is believed to imply the Nazis planned to take it to Berlin

1945: It was returned to Bayeux, where it has been ever since

Weave brought it up-to-date! Internet celebrates Bayeux Tapestry coming to the UK by imagining what its modern-day equivalent would look like

It's a valuable historical document that depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066.

But more than 950 years later, social media jokers are trying to imagine the Bayeux Tapestry in the present-day with a series of tongue-in-cheek memes today.